A new year is ahead of us — and that means another year of fandom anxiety.
Related: 10 headlines we DO want to see in 2016
One of the big issues with fandom is that we really care about the ones we’re a part of, so bad news can really tug at our heartstrings.
Unfortunately, as we move through this thing we call life, bad things occasionally come up in our fandoms.
These are the stories we’re dreading reading in 2016, and why they’re quite possible.
Why it’s feasible: Ryan Murphy has been creating too many television shows, and his workload has prevented any of his projects from being really great in recent years. The guy needs to take a year off and regroup creatively. On the docket in 2016: another season of American Horror Story, a spinoff called American Crime Story, and maybe another season of Scream Queens. And who knows what else is coming in the new year! Ryan, how about just taking a break and coming back in another couple years with one genuinely good idea for a TV show? We’re looking for another Glee season 1.
Why it’s feasible: We actually included this “fake” story in last year’s installment of this feature and it came true, so I’m doubling-down and including it again. We have a Christmas special due out on January 1, and the rumor mill suggests that Sherlock series 4 will begin filming by the middle of 2016, but after being burned by a delay earlier this year, who the hell knows? We’ll believe it’s happening once we see the paparazzi photos of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman back on set.
Why it’s feasible: The internet coined the phrase “Netflix and chill” this year, so we’re only a few months away from parents hearing about it and starting to use it themselves. And once they use it, it’s going to become totally gross and unpopular. Onto another streaming service, kids!
Why it’s feasible: Pixar has had mixed success with sequels (Good: The Toy Story sequels, Bad: Monsters University, Cars 2). I saw some footage from Finding Dory at Disney’s D23 Expo over the summer and I was underwhelmed. It was just more of the same! “Ha ha ha, Dory is forgetful,” is what the footage was reminding expo attendees.
I’m still hopeful the movie is going to be good, because Finding Nemo is a true Pixar gem. But count me skeptical until I get to see the heart of the story.
Why it’s feasible: Adele slayed the world at the end of 2015 thanks to her latest studio album. She’s been making lots of promotional appearances and has a world tour scheduled for 2016. People are desperate to see her live because they are in love with her music — but might she overwork herself and have to cancel shows? I know this is a grim headline to even think about writing, but believe it or not, Adele is only human.
Why it’s feasible: Star Wars was good — we all know it. But maybe it was too good. Maybe this is too good to be true. Maybe we’re all going to wake up next year and realize it was all just a happy dream. I mean really, how the hell did a seventh Star Wars movie end up being so good? It can’t be real.
Why it’s feasible: Harry Potter fans can’t wait to see what J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter filmmaking team have come up with for the first Wizarding World spinoff, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. But with the recent success of Star Wars, we can’t help wondering: what if it’s a critical flop?
WB is certainly doing everything they can to make sure it’s a hit. They need it to be! But it’s very risky for Rowling to introduce fans to a completely different part of the Wizarding World. We may feel no connection to these characters at all, and it’s hard to imagine caring about them like we do the Harry Potter characters. We wait with cautious optimism.
Why it’s feasible: The end of Game of Thrones season 5 brought us to the current endpoint in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Dance with Dragons. With no release date for book 6 in sight, it’s looking more and more likely that Game of Thrones season 6 will unveil what lies ahead in Martin’s story before the author gets to unveil it himself.
It’s so weird, isn’t it? Martin began this story in 1996, and now, for the first time, the television adaptation that premiered in 2011 is about to supersede his book series. Why should Martin even bother publishing the final two books? It’s obviously a lot of work for him. Let HBO take it from here, George — you’ll still make a ton of money!
Why it’s feasible: Captain Marvel has been moved from July 6, 2018 to November 2, 2018 to March 8, 2019. You can see why we’re fearing that this headline will come true.
Why it’s feasible: J.K. Rowling confirmed (then retracted) the existence of a Harry Potter encyclopedia in 2012. Since then we haven’t heard anything about it. With the author holding a heavy presence on Twitter over the past couple years, it’s inevitable that she’ll address the encyclopedia again. This time, we’re afraid she’s just going to dump the project all together.
2016 will mark the nine year anniversary of Deathly Hallows being published. If you asked us in 2007 if an encyclopedia would’ve been published by now, we would’ve said yes.
But it’s still not here. And it’ll never come. UGH.